Smile
by Lady Callista
Summary: Blaine is included in a Hummel-Hudson family night for the first time, and Kurt is glad for the chance to just relax and hang out. He needs time to build up the courage to tell Blaine that he's transfering back to McKinley. Third in the "When Flowers Bloom" series.


Dislaimer: Glee belongs to FOX, the writers, producers, actors, etc. I am making no money from this, and no copywrite infringement is intended. All quotes were found online and are attributed to their authors if I could find them.

AN: Set during "Born This Way," after the conference with Dave and fathers in the principles office, but before Kurt's transfer back is official. Because Blaine is obviously understanding about Kurt wanting to transfer, we see that in the episode, but I always wondered how that conversation went. And because I wanted more cuteness as well and dreamed about the opening scene.

* * *

Smile

By Lady Callista

_OoOoOoO_

"_The flower in the vase smiles, but no longer laughs." -Malcolm de Chazal_

_OoOoOoO_

"You're sure this is okay?" Blaine asked hesitantly as Kurt settled on the couch next to him, setting the box for Monopoly on the table in front of them and pulling off the lid.

"Of course it is." Kurt smiled as he pulled the board off the top, opening it up before pulling out the property cards to organize them. "I know we were planning on going out to a movie, but we haven't done a family night in a while, and I guess after the meeting this afternoon Dad just wanted us all to spend some time together."

"Of course you should spend time with your family. Kurt, I'm not upset about not going to see the movie, I'm happy just to be spending time with you whatever we're doing." Blaine said earnestly. "And I'm okay with waiting to talk about what happened in the office till later, since I know that Karofsky…"

Kurt cast a glance over his shoulder towards the kitchen, worried even as Blaine lowered his voice and then trailed off without saying what only the two of them knew. He didn't know if his dad finding out Dave was probably gay would be a good thing or bad, but either way it wasn't his secret to tell. It had been different with Blaine, he would have gone insane if he hadn't had his support and understanding, and he had known Blaine wouldn't tell anyone, but… His train of thought shifted when he noticed Blaine still looked uneasy, "Then what's wrong?"

"It's just, like you said, it's family night, and…"

Kurt smiled then, understanding. He paused from sorting cards to lace his fingers together with Blaine's. "And Finn and I are always welcome to have our significant others over for family night. This is the first time I've gotten to, and I like it."

Blaine smiled back, "I like it too. I just don't want to overstep…"

"You're not this time, kiddo." Burt said with a grin that widened as Blaine winced at the reference. He walked past the two boys to settle on the second couch that had been pulled up to the other side of the coffee table, settling glasses of lemonade in front of each of them.

Carole followed behind him with three more glasses, setting them in front of where her and Burt would sit and putting the last one on the end of the table, where a chair had been pulled up for Finn to take once he was out of the shower. "And I'll tell you what I told Rachel the first time Finn had her over for family night; I love my boy and I'm proud of him, and I trust him and his judgement. And when he has someone special, someone he feels is worth his time and affection, then that's someone I want to get to know better."

Blaine blushed and looked down, and his voice came softly once he managed to find words, "Thank you."

Kurt squeezed his hand before releasing it, going back to sorting cards. Carole pulled the bank tray out, organizing the money that always seemed to slide around, no matter how carefully the box was carried, and Burt pulled out the yellow and orange cards that always had the same problem. For lack of anything else to do, and still slightly overwhelmed by how open and friendly Kurt's family was, Blaine reached for the pewter pieces, about to ask what everyone wanted when he noticed that there were several non-standard ones. He let the other pieces fall back into the box as he studied the three small figures in his hand; a wizard, a dragon, and a fairy.

Kurt had seen Blaine notice the figurines, and gave him a moment to study them as he finished sorting the cards. He took a deep breath then, and before Blaine asked said softly, "The summer before we lost Mom, the three of us went to this renaissance faire in Wilmington. I loved playing Monopoly, and Mom got this idea that each of us should have our own special piece for when we play. She found this booth with a hundred different pewter figures, all these different fantasy ones, and we each picked one."

Kurt plucked the dragon out of Blaine's hand, petting its head softly before handing it to his father. Burt added, "She had just finished reading Kurt _The Hobbit_, so of course he wanted to be the wizard. I'm not really sure how I ended up with the dragon."

"And my mom wanted a fairy." Kurt said softly, looking at the two pieces still in Blaine's hand. "We never actually got to play with them before… but after, it was kind of nice to have the memory, once it stopped hurting. We don't use the fairy, but…"

"I'm sorry, I…"

"It's okay." Kurt cut Blaine off. "Like I said, it's just a nice memory now. They wouldn't be in there if we weren't okay with talking about them. In fact…"

Kurt carefully took the fairy from Blaine's hand, his eyes turning thoughtful before catching his dad's eye. When Burt nodded, Kurt set the fairy on the start space and lightly closed Blaine's fingers around the wizard.

"Kurt, no, I…"

"I know you've always wanted to be a wizard." Kurt teased lightly as Finn walked in and took his seat. "And I like the idea of using mom's."

Carole spoke up before Blaine could protest again, "I think your mom would like it too." She grabbed the dog she always used, adding Finn's racecar as well and putting both of them on start. Burt smiled and nodded, taking her hand with obvious gratitude on his face.

Seeing he was outnumbered, Blaine gave them a slight smile as he looked thoughtfully at the wizard from the top of his conical hat to the bottom of his long flowing robes and staff. "Well, I wasn't thinking Gandalf so much as Harry Potter, but I guess he does kinda look like Dumbledore. Okay, Albus, let's kick some butt!"

With a wrist flourish that looked like he should have been holding a wand rather than a figurine, Blaine set the wizard on the start space.

"You're adorable, did you know that?" Kurt chucked, leaning in without thought to give Blaine a teasing kiss.

He froze halfway, feeling three sets of eyes on them, and drew back with a blush.

"It's okay, you know." Burt's voice came softly in the silent room. "I think everyone in the room knows that you and Blaine kiss."

Kurt's blush deepened, and beside him he felt Blaine shift nervously. "We don't, we don't kiss in front of people."

"I understand why, and I can't do anything about out there." Burt waved in the direction of the front door. "But in this house, you can be yourself. That's always been true. And if you want to kiss your boyfriend you should."

Kurt laughed nervously. "Well, I don't want to right now with everyone staring at us."

"It's just nice to see you happy." Carole offered him a gentle smile, placing a hand on his shoulder as she rose from the couch. "Now, I think some snacks are in order before we start playing. Who wants popcorn?"

OoOoOoO

"That was actually a lot of fun." Blaine commented later as the two boys entered Kurt's bedroom, leaving the door open behind them. Finn, along with Carole and Burt, had elected to watch a movie_, _and Kurt was more than happy for once to let Finn pick an action movie, because he really just wanted to have some alone time with Blaine.

"You sound surprised." Kurt replied as he crossed to his stereo, flicking through the attached iPod for background music.

Blaine chuckled slightly self-consciously. "Well, I don't know Finn that well, and I'm not really used to hanging out with parents either. My parents would never…"

The sad note in Blaine's voice caused Kurt to turn, forgetting about putting music on as he crossed the room to take both of Blaine's hands loosely in his own. "I'm glad you had fun." Kurt said softly, smiling as Blaine met his eyes. "I did too. I always do on family night, actually, but it was even better with you here."

"Family night." Blaine said the words testingly, almost as if he had never heard of the concept before.

Kurt didn't miss the hint of wistfulness in his voice, and leaned in to kiss him softly.

Blaine smiled, small but real, because he just couldn't not smile when Kurt kissed him. It was still new enough that even the gentle press of lips sent a thrill through him, making him feel like he was the luckiest person in the world. It had been a month, so it shouldn't have been that way anymore, and Blaine was beginning to wonder if it just always would be. The thought wasn't unpleasant in the least.

"Mr. Shue told us once that everyone had two families, the one you're born into, and the one you make yourself." Kurt said softly even as he pulled Blaine over to sit on the bed, smiling again as he thought of how the family he had downstairs was in itself an example of that statement. "My family would make room for anyone I liked, I think, but I can tell they really like you."

"I like them too," Blaine replied instantly, "Especially your dad. What the two of you have together is amazing. And what he said about… I mean, about us…"

"Kissing." Kurt filled in softly, leaning in to do just that.

The kiss spun out this time, longer and deeper until both boys were slightly breathless.

"We never really talked about not kissing in front of other people, but what you said earlier was right. We never have, and this is all so new that I don't even know if I realized that." Blaine said gently. "And I know we can't… shouldn't… when we're out in public, cause it would just invite more hate. But when we're with your family, or friends who we know are okay with us, well, I would be okay with it if you are."

Kurt blushed slightly, yet replied seriously, "When I stopped earlier, it wasn't just because, uh, because I was kissing a boy, it was because it's all still so new. Not that long ago I wouldn't even have had the right to kiss you, and it's just… it's so amazing and special and something I didn't know if I would ever have, and it still feels so personal and private."

Blaine smiled fully then. "I know what you mean, and if you want it to stay that way that's okay too. This is just another new thing we get to figure out together. Not everyone is okay with PDA's, and there's nothing wrong with that."

"I want to think about it a little more, but I think I'll be okay with it. You might have to give me a little time though." Kurt smiled back, kissing Blaine softly, but when he pulled back it was with a serious expression on his face. "And while I really just want to keep kissing you, now that we're alone, I… I wanted to talk to you about what happened today."

"You're transferring back." Blaine said softly without preamble.

Kurt's eyes widened. "I'm not positive, I mean I, I wanted to talk about it with you first, but… but how did you…"

"If you weren't you would have just told me straight away. You wanted to wait until we were alone not just because of what I know, but because you're worried I'll be upset and you wanted to have a nice family night first." Blaine said as he slide his arm around Kurt's back, leaning in to rest his chin on Kurt's shoulder.

"How is it that you know me so well?"

"I pay attention." Blaine said lightly, "Just like you do to me. And because of that you should have known I wouldn't be upset."

"But we won't get to see each other as much, and…"

"And you'll be back with all your friends, you'll be able to show off your amazing fashion sense more, and you'll be in a glee club that's more appreciative of how spectacular you are." Blaine said softly. "I know you're not completely happy at Dalton, Kurt. There's something different about you when you're not there, when we're hanging with all your old friends, or in some of the videos you showed me of old New Directions performances. The way you smile, and laugh, and… Kurt, anyone who knows you knows McKinley is where you belong."

"Have I told you yet today that you're amazing?"

Blaine chuckled as he raised up enough to kiss Kurt's cheek. "I just want you to be happy. It's not like you'll be half a world away."

"I know, but we won't get to see each other as much, and you've always been there for me no matter what I needed, even before we were dating, and it feels like I'm abandoning you and…" Kurt's babbling was cut off when Blaine kissed him again, this time on the lips.

"It's not about me, Kurt, or even about us. You didn't transfer to Dalton because of me, and while I love having you there we both know it's not really the best fit for you. Don't get me wrong, all the guys like you, and I know you like that the classes were more challenging, and obviously that it was safer, but the list of things you dislike about it is much longer." Blaine breathed, their faces still close together. "I know you're happy with me, but not only can I not replace all your old friends, I would never want to try. I don't feel abandoned, Kurt, I just want you to be happy. I want you to have that glow back."

"You could always come to McKinley too." Kurt tossed it out there offhandedly, purposely forcing a lightness into his voice. He would absolutely love having Blaine there, it would make his life pretty much perfect, but he knew it wasn't as simple as that.

"Maybe next year." Blaine replied just as lightly, although he had already had the same thought. "After all, we can't have the Warblers losing their two leads at the same time. Think how disappointed all the people at the nursing homes would be."

Rather than laugh as Blaine had likely expected, Kurt looked slightly guilty. "I need to tell them, in person. I feel so bad about it; they trusted me with a lead and we didn't win, and now I'm just leaving and I'll be going to New York for nationals with the team that beat us, and…"

"They'll understand too, Kurt." Blaine interrupted. "Especially since it's your old school, and they know why you left. Well, most of them do anyway. You always worry about everyone else, but this isn't about anyone else; it's all you. And if whatever happened in that office made you believe that you'll be safe at McKinley again, then I believe it too. So do what makes you happy. The Warblers will be fine. You and I will be fine. And you'll be able to be yourself again."

Kurt smiled then, full and bright, running his fingers along Blaine's cheek. "You are so amazing."

Blaine blushed but responded cheekily, "Like you would settle for anything less."

Now it was Kurt's turn to blush as he broke eye contact, "I might have, because I wanted someone so badly. I just got lucky that the someone was you."

"We both got lucky." Blaine chuckled self-consciously then. "Do you think we're ever going to get tired of saying that?"

Kurt leaned in for another kiss before offering softly, "I hope not."

"Agreed." Blaine said as his hand slid up to Kurt's cheek and he pulled him back for another kiss. "I really wanna keep kissing you, but I want to hear more about what happened at your school as well."

Kurt grinned as his earlier words were echoed back to him. "We do have almost an hour before you have to leave."

"Good point." Blaine grinned back, hand sliding around to let his fingers play along the short hairs on the back of Kurt's neck, causing the older boy to shiver slightly.

"I know which one I want to do first." Kurt whispered as his arms slid around Blaine, loving how the boy tightened his grip on him when his hands finally rested low on Blaine's back, fingers tracing lightly up and down his spine.

"Well, I did just say I want you to be happy." Blaine answered with a grin Kurt could only describe as saucy before he leaned in and kissed Kurt deeply.

They never did get around to finishing their talk.

THE END


End file.
